Glossary
What is a virtual phone number?
A phone number without a phone line: how it works, why businesses use one, and your options.
The short answer
What is a virtual phone number?
A virtual phone number is a phone number that isn't tied to a specific phone line or SIM card. It lives with a provider in the cloud, and calls to it are routed wherever you choose: a mobile, a desk phone, an app, a team or an AI receptionist. Businesses use virtual numbers to get a local number in another area, keep work and personal calls apart, and change phones or offices without changing the number.
How it works
The number is registered with a provider that runs on VoIP. When someone calls it, the provider looks up your routing rules and sends the call to the destination you set, or to several destinations in turn. Because nothing is tied to a device, you can change where the number rings at any time, without the caller noticing.
Example
A contractor based in one town wants more work from the next county. He gets a virtual number with that area's local prefix, puts it on his ads there, and routes it to the same mobile as his main number. Callers see a local number; he answers both on one phone.
Numbers for an AI receptionist
When you connect a number, Daber AI gives the agent a US or Canada number right away. In most other countries, Israel included, the carrier issues a local number after a short identity or address check. You can also skip the new number: keep your existing one and forward calls to the agent, all of them or only the ones you don't answer.
Questions
Is a virtual number the same as a VoIP number?
Usually, yes. Virtual numbers run on VoIP, so people often use the two terms for the same thing. "Virtual" stresses that the number isn't tied to a line or device.
Do I need a new number to use an AI receptionist?
No. You can keep the number your customers already know and forward calls from it to the agent's number. Forwarding only the calls you don't answer lets your own phone ring first.
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